Fan apparatus

ABSTRACT

A fan apparatus comprises a fan module and an actuator. The actuator coupled to the fan module comprising a pair of guide rails and an actuating element. In one embodiment, the two ends of each actuating element slidably coupled with the corresponding pair of the guide rail respectively. When the actuating element is driven to slides on the guide rails, a reaction force acts on the fan module for lifting the fan module from an inserted position. In another embodiment, one end of the actuating element is coupled to one guide rail, while the other end of the actuating element is rotatably coupled to a protrusion part slidably coupled in the other guide rail. When the actuating element is driven to slide on one guide rail, a reacting force acts on the protrusion part for inserting the fan module into an inserted position or lifting the fan module therefrom.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fan apparatus, and more particularly, to a fan apparatus with detachable fan module.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Generally, it is common for electronic systems, such as servers, to have fan modules embedded therein for hear dissipation. Operationally, heat generated from the operating circuit units, such as CPU, inside an electronic system can by dissipated by the blowing wind from the fan modules, by that those circuit units can be protected from being damaged by overheat. However, for preventing a situation that the whole electronic system is stopped from operation just for replacing a damaged fan module, most fan modules available today are designed with hot swap capability.

Conventionally, a fan module with hot swap capability is constructed as a frame having a fan unit embedded therein. Although such hot-swappable fan module can have its fan unit to be removed directly from the frame without shutting down the system, but in a situation when the frame interfers the operation of the mother board and it is required to have the mother board to be removed and replaced, the frame will have to be detached from the mother board before the mother board can be detached, but for doing so, the fan unit will have to be removed from the frame in advance, which can be very tedious and inconvenient.

There are already many studies that provide solutions to the aforesaid shortcoming. One of which is vibration-buffering fan fixing apparatus disclosed in TW Pat. No. M328174, which provides a frame having a plurality of fan unit embedded therein that can be detached as a whole. That is, in addition to that any one of the plural fan units can be detached and removed from the frame by itself without interroupping the operation of others, the frame can be removed along with the plural fan units that are still embedded therein as an individual component.

Another study that is disclosed in TW Pat. No. 1319300 teaches a fixing mechanism enabling a fan unit to be installed vertically, in which a plurality of positioning/clipping element are disposed between fan units and their corresponding frames that are used for fixing or releasing the fan units when they are being inserted into or being pulled out of the frames. Nevertheless, the aforesaid patent only describe a method for disassembling the fan units, but there is no description relating to the disassembling of the frame along with its fan units as a whole simultaneously.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a fan apparatus, using which the frame of a fan module can be detached along with its fan units still embedded therein as a whole, and also the frame can be moved up and down in a vertical direction by the driving of an actuator so as to prevent the connector connecting the fan module and a circuit substrate from deforming or even damaging during disassembling the fan module, and thereby, facilitate the replacing of the circuit substrate that is electrically connected to the fan module.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides a fan apparatus, comprising: a fan module; and an actuator, coupled to the fan module, further comprising: a panel, coupled to a side of the fan module while having at least a pair of guide rails mounted thereon; and at least an actuating element, each disposed at a side of the panel at a position corresponding to the at least one pair of guide rails while enabling the same to be slidably coupled with the corresponding pair of the guide rails; wherein, each pair of guide rails, being composed of a first guide rail having a first position and a second position defined thereon and a second guide rail having a third position defined therein, is configured in a manner that the distance between the first position and the third position is different than that between the second position and the third position.

In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the present invention provides a fan apparatus, comprising: a fan module, having at least a pivot; and an actuator, coupled to the fan module, further comprising: a panel, coupled to a side of the fan module while having at least a pair of guide rails mounted thereon and configured in a manner that each pair of guide rails is composed of a first guide rail having a first position and a second position defined thereon and a second guide rail having a third position defined therein, while enabling the first guide rail and the second guide rail to be slidably coupled to the pivot and the distance between the first position and the third position to be different than that between the second position and the third position; and at least an actuating element, each pivotally coupled to the at least one pivot while being disposed at a side of the panel at a position corresponding to the at least one pair of guide rails in a manner that each actuating element is slidably coupled with the second rail of its corresponding pair of the guide rails.

Further scope of applicability of the present application will become more apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not limitative of the present invention and wherein:

FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B are an exploded diagram and a three-dimensional diagram showing a portion of a fan apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a panel used in the fan apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1B.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are schematic diagrams showing how a fan apparatus can be detached from a circuit substrate.

FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional view of a fan apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are schematic diagrams showing the positions of the actuating elements, a forcing member, and a pressing board when the fan apparatus is plugged into a circuit substrate according to the present invention.

FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D are schematic diagrams showing the positions of the actuating elements, a forcing member, and a pressing board when the fan apparatus is detached from a circuit substrate according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional view of a fan apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B are an exploded diagram and a three-dimensional diagram showing a portion of a fan apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are schematic diagrams showing how the fan apparatus of the fourth embodiment is actuated.

FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are an exploded diagram and a three-dimensional diagram showing a portion of a fan apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a three-dimensional view of a fan apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

For your esteemed members of reviewing committee to further understand and recognize the fulfilled functions and structural characteristics of the invention, several exemplary embodiments cooperating with detailed description are presented as the follows.

Please refer to FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, which are an exploded diagram and a three-dimensional diagram showing a portion of a fan apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the fan apparatus 2 is comprised of: a fan module 20 and an actuator 21, in which the fan module 20 is constructed as a frame 200 having at least one fan unit 201 embedded therein. Although there are only two fan units 201 in this embodiment, but the amount of fan units 201 in the present invention is not limited thereby. It is noted that there can be only one fan unit 201 embedded inside the frame 200. Moreover, the actuator 21 is comprised of: a panel 210 and an actuating element 211, in which the panel 210 is fixedly connected to a side of the fan module 20. In this embodiment, the panel 210 is fixed to the frame 200. Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a front view of a panel used in the fan apparatus of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1B. As shown in FIG. 2, the panel 210 is configured with a pair of guide rails 212, 213 in a manner that the distance between a first position 2120 defined on the guide rail 212 and a third position 2130 defined on the guide rail 213 is different than that between a second position 2121 defined on the guide rail 212 and the third position 2130. That is, in this embodiment, the distance D2 between the first position 2120 and the third position 2130 defined on the guide rail 213 is different than the distance D1 between the second position 2121 and the third position 2130. For clarity, the aforesaid positions are not restricted to those shown in FIG. 2, they can be other positions on the guide rails 212, 213, satisfying the condition that the foregoing distance restriction is satisfied. In this embodiment, the guide rail 212 is a curved rail and the guide rail 213 is a straight rail.

As shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, the actuating element 211 is substantially a rod that is disposed at a position between the panel 210 and the fan module 20. In this embodiment, there is a recess 2100 formed on a surface of the panel 210 facing toward the actuating element 211 for accommodating the same. In addition, there are two sliding blocks 2112, 2113 formed respectively on a first end 2110 and a second end 2111 of the actuating element 211 while enabling the two to slidably inset into the guide rails 213, 212 in respective. Moreover, the first end 2110 of the actuating element 211 is connected to a forcing member 214 while the second end 2111 is connected to a pressing board 215, by that the panel 210 is positioned between the actuating element 211 with the forcing member 214 and the pressing board 215. In this embodiment, the forcing member 214 is fixed to the sliding block 2112 that is formed on the first end 2110 of the actuating element 21, and the pressing board 215 is fixed to the sliding block 2113 that is formed on the second end 2111. There can be many ways for fixing the sliding blocks to their corresponding forcing member or pressing board. For instance, the sliding blocks can be wedged into openings formed on the corresponding forcing member or pressing board, or the forcing member or pressing board can be fixed to the corresponding sliding blocks by certain fixing means, such as screwing means.

Moreover, for preventing the forcing member 214 from rotating, there are corresponding guide grooves and guide blocks formed respectively on the surfaces of the forcing member 214 and the panel 210 that are opposite to each other. In this embodiment, the guide groove 216 is formed on the panel 210 while the guide block 217 is disposed on the forcing member 214. However, the disposition of the guide groove and the guide block is not limited thereby that the guide groove 216 can formed on the forcing member 214 while the guide block 217 can be disposed on panel 210. Operationally, when the actuating element 211 is being driven to move according to the defining of the pair of guide rails 212, 213, the relative positioning of the two sliding blocks 2112, 2113 of the actuating element 211 will be varied accordingly since the distance between the two sliding blocks 2112, 2113 is fixed. Consequently, the changing of the relative positioning of the two sliding blocks 2112, 2113 of the actuating element 211 can be used for controlling the position change of an object that is coupled to the actuating element 211. Accordingly, it is noted that the guide rail 212 is not necessary to be a curved rail and the guide rail 213 is also not necessary to be a straight rail. Thus, in another embodiment, the guide rail 212 is a straight rail and the guide rail 213 is a curved rail.

The following description relates to the operation of the fan apparatus shown in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, the fan apparatus 2 further comprises a circuit substrate 9, which, being an electronic computing device, can be a motherboard for servers, workstations or computers. There are two connectors 91, 92 formed on the circuit substrate 9 at positions corresponding to the two fan units 201 of the fan module 20, by that the fan module 20 can be plugged into the circuit substrate 9 so as to be connected electrically thereto. Moreover, there is a block 92 a block disposed on the circuit substrate 9 at a position corresponding to the forcing member 214. Please refer to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, which are schematic diagrams showing how a fan apparatus can be detached from a circuit substrate. When the fan module 20 is plugged in the circuit substrate 9, as shown in FIG. 3A, and when the pressing board 215 is subjected to an acting forcing 93, the sliding block 2113 formed on the second end 2111 of the actuating element 211 will be forced by the acting force 90 and thus being driven to slide inside the guide rail 212 since the pressing board 215 is fixed to the actuating element 211.

During the sliding of the sliding block 2113 of the actuating element 211 inside the guide rail 212, the position of another sliding block 2112 of the actuating element inside the guide rail 213 will be changed according to the defining of the guide rail 213, i.e. it is going to move downward. In addition, as the forcing member 214 is connected to the sliding block 2112, the forcing member 214 is also being driven to move downward by the downward-moving sliding block 212, and then press upon the block 92. At the moment, since the distance between the two sliding blocks 2112, 2113 is fixed, the pressing of the forcing member 214 upon the block 92 that is resulting from the sliding block 2113 being forced to slide inside the guide rail 212 will cause the panel 210 to perform a relative upward movement 95 with respect to the sliding actuating element 211. Moreover, since the panel 210 is fixed to the fan module 20, the relative upward movement 95 of the panel 210 will drive the fan module 20 to detach itself from the circuit substrate 9, as that shown in FIG. 3B. On the other hand, when the fan module 20 is subjected to a downward acting force 94 for plugging the fan module 20 into the circuit substrate 9, as shown in FIG. 3B, the forcing member 214 will be engaged by the block 214, and thus by the pressing of the block 214, the actuating element 211 will be driven to slide according to the defining of the guide rails 212, 213, that is, the sliding block 2112 inside the guide rail 213 is driven to move upward while the sliding block 2113 inside the guide rail 212 is driven to move to the right by the curve of the guide rail 212, and finally achieve the plugging of the fan module 20 into the circuit substrate 9, as shown in FIG. 3A.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a three-dimensional view of a fan apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The fan apparatus shown in the second embodiment is similar to the one shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, but is different in that: there are two pairs of guide rails, i.e. the pair of guide rails 212, 213 and the pair of guide rails 212 a, 213 a, while there are two actuating elements disposed respectively at positions corresponding to the two pairs of guide rails. Please refer to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, which are schematic diagrams showing the positions of the actuating elements 211, 211 a, the forcing member 214, and the pressing board 215 when the fan apparatus is plugged into a circuit substrate. Please refer to FIG. 5C and FIG. 5D, which are schematic diagrams showing the positions of the actuating elements 211, 211 a, the forcing member 214, and the pressing board 215 when the fan apparatus is detached from a circuit substrate. The operation principle of the fan apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is the same as the one shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, and thus is not described further herein. Please refer to FIG. 6, which is a three-dimensional view of a fan apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. The fan apparatus shown in the third embodiment is structured similar to the one shown in FIG. 1A and FIG. 1B, but is different in that: the actuating element 211 is disposed at a position outside the panel 210 for enabling the panel 210 to be disposed between the actuating element 211 and the fan module 20. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the forcing member is not a necessary component, but can be configured if required. Under the condition that there is no forcing member, the upward movement of the fan module 20 is caused by the counteraction resulting from the pressing of the first end 2110 of the actuating element 211 upon the block 92.

Please refer to FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, which are an exploded diagram and a three-dimensional diagram showing a portion of a fan apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the fan apparatus 3 is comprised of a fan module 30 and an actuator 31, in which the fan module 30, being configured with a pivot 302, is composed of a frame 300 and at least one fan unit 301 that the pivot 302 is mounted on a side of the frame 300. In addition, the actuator 31, being arranged coupling with the fan module 30, is comprised of: a panel 310 and an actuating element 311, in which the panel 310 is fixed to a circuit substrate 9 and is disposed at a side of the fan module 30. It is noted that the circuit substrate 9, circuit substrate 9, being an electronic computing device, can be a motherboard for servers, workstations or computers. Moreover, the panel 310 has a pair of guide rails formed thereon, which is composed of: a first guide rail 312 that is slidably coupled to the pivot 302; and a second guide rail 313 which has an opening 3130 formed on one end thereof. In this embodiment, the distance between a first position 3131 defined on the second guide rail 313 and a third position 3120 defined on the first guide rail 312 is different than that between a second position 3132 defined on the second guide rail 313 and the third position 3120, that is, the distance between the first position 3131 and the third position 3120 is larger than the distance between the second position 3132 and the third position 3120. It is noted that, in this embodiment, the first guide rail 312 is a straight rail and the second guide rail 313 is a curved rail, but they are not limited thereby. The actuating element 311, being pivotally coupled to the pivot 302 through a pivot hole 3111, is arranged at a side of the panel 310 at a position corresponding to the pair of the guide rails 312, 313 while enabling an end of the actuating element 311 to be slidably inset into the second guide rail 313 by the use of a sliding block 3110. In addition, the sliding block 3110 that is slidably inset into the second guide rail 313 is further fixed to a pressing board 314. It is noted that the pressing board is not a necessary component for the present invention, that it can be disposed as required. If there is no pressing board, the length of the sliding block 3110 should be increased to an extend that the part of the sliding block 3110 that is protruding out can be used as an forcing interface and as a substitute for the pressing board.

The following description relates to the operation of the fan apparatus shown in the fourth embodiment. Please refer to FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are schematic diagrams showing how the fan apparatus 30 of the fourth embodiment detached from the connectors formed on a circuit substrate 9. When the fan module 30 is plugged in the circuit substrate 9, as shown in FIG. 8A, and when the pressing board 314 or the part of the sliding block 3110 that is protruding out of the second guide rail 313 is subjected to an acting forcing 93 by the actuation of the actuating element 311, the sliding block 3110 formed on the actuating element 311 will be forced by the acting force 93 and thus being driven to slide inside the second guide rail 313 following the defining of it curvature since the pressing board 314 is fixed to the actuating element 311.

During the sliding of the sliding block 3110 of the actuating element 311 inside the second guide rail 313 by the acting force 93, the end of the actuating element 311 that is coupled to the pivot 302 will be brought along to move upward inside the first guide rail 312 and thus change the vertical position of the pivot 302 with respect to the first guide rail 312. In addition, as the actuating element 311 is pivotally coupled to the pivot 302, when the end of the actuating element 311 that is coupled to the pivot 302 is being brought along to move upward inside the first guide rail 312, the pivot 302 will be subject to a lifting force that can pull the fan module to move upward during the sliding of the sliding block 3110, and thus cause the fan module 30 to be detached from the connector formed on the circuit substrate 9. Moreover, since the second guide rail 313 is formed with the opening 3130, the fan module 30 is able to be removed from the panel 310 through the opening 3130. Similarly, for plugging the fan module 30 into the circuit substrate 9, one can simply forcing the sliding block 3110 to sliding inside the second guide rail 313 in a direction opposite to the foregoing detach operation, by that the end of the actuating element 311 that is coupled to the pivot 302 is being brought along to move downward inside the first guide rail 312 and thus the pivot will also be brought along to move downward. Accordingly, since the downward-moving pivot 302 is fixedly connected to the fan module 30, the fan module 30 will be driven to move downward and thus plug into the circuit substrate 9.

Please refer to FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B, which are an exploded diagram and a three-dimensional diagram showing a portion of a fan apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. The fan apparatus 3 shown in the fifth embodiment is similar to the one shown in FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B, but is different in that: there are two pairs of guide rails, i.e. the pair of guide rails 312, 313 and the pair of guide rails 312 a, 313 a being formed on the panel 310, while there are two actuating elements 311, 311 a disposed at a side of the panel 310. Moreover, for ensuring the two actuating elements 311, 311 a to move in synchronization, the two actuating element 311, 311 a are connected with each other by a connecting rod 315. The operation principle of the fan apparatus 3 shown in FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B is the same as the one shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B, and thus is not described further herein. Please refer to FIG. 10, which is a three-dimensional view of a fan apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. The fan apparatus shown in the sixth embodiment is structured similar to the fourth embodiment shown in FIG. 7A, but is different in that: the actuating element 311 is disposed at a position outside the panel 310 for enabling the panel 310 to be disposed between the actuating element 311 and the fan module 30. Moreover, for facilitating the operation of the actuating element 311, the actuating element 311 is further coupled to a pressing board 314.

For clarity, the first embodiment, the second embodiment and the third embodiment are different from the fourth embodiment, the fifth embodiment and the sixth embodiment in that: in the first embodiment, the second embodiment and the third embodiment, the panel is integrated with the fan module so that when the fan module is detached from the circuit board, the panel is also detached, but in the fourth embodiment, the fifth embodiment and the sixth embodiment, the panel is not connected to the fan module, so that when the fan module is detached from the circuit board, the panel is still fixed to the circuit substrate.

With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention. 

1. A fan apparatus, comprising: a fan module; and an actuator, coupled to the fan module, further comprising: a panel, coupled to a side of the fan module while having at least a pair of guide rails mounted thereon; and at least an actuating element, each disposed at a side of the panel at a position corresponding to the at least one pair of guide rails while enabling the same to be slidably coupled with the corresponding pair of the guide rails; wherein, each pair of guide rails, being composed of a first guide rail having a first position and a second position defined thereon and a second guide rail having a third position defined therein, is configured in a manner that the distance between the first position and the third position is different than that between the second position and the third position.
 2. The fan apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first rail is a curved rail and the second rail is a straight rail.
 3. The fan apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one actuating element is disposed at a position between the panel and the fan module while enabling a first end and a second end of each actuating element to be connected respectively to a forcing member and a pressing board and simultaneously disposing the panel at a position between each actuating element with its corresponding forcing member and the pressing board.
 4. The fan apparatus of claim 3, further comprising: a circuit substrate, provided for the fan module to be plugged therein so as to be connected electrically thereto, and having a block disposed thereon at a position corresponding to the forcing member; wherein, when the at least one actuating element is brought along to slide by an acting force exerting on the pressing board, the sliding actuating element is going to cause the forcing member to press on the block so as to cause the panel to move relative to the sliding actuating element, and thus enable the fan module to detach from the circuit substrate.
 5. The fan apparatus of claim 1, wherein the panel is disposed at a position between the at least one actuator and the fan module; the fan apparatus further comprises a circuit substrate that is provided for the fan module to be plugged therein so as to be connected electrically thereto; and the circuit substrate has a block disposed at a position corresponding to a first end of the at least one actuating element; and when the at least one actuating element is driven by an acting force and thus sliding by the defining of its corresponding pair of guide rails, the sliding actuating element is going to exert a force onto the block so as to cause the panel to move relative to the sliding actuating element, and thus enable the fan module to detach from the circuit substrate.
 6. A fan apparatus, comprising: a fan module, having at least a pivot; and an actuator, coupled to the fan module, further comprising: a panel, coupled to a side of the fan module while having at least a pair of guide rails mounted thereon and configured in a manner that each pair of guide rails is composed of a first guide rail having a first position and a second position defined thereon and a second guide rail having a third position defined therein, while enabling the first guide rail and the second guide rail to be slidably coupled to the pivot and the distance between the first position and the third position to be different than that between the second position and the third position; and at least an actuating element, each pivotally coupled to the at least one pivot while being disposed at a side of the panel at a position corresponding to the at least one pair of guide rails in a manner that each actuating element is slidably coupled with the second rail of its corresponding pair of the guide rails.
 7. The fan apparatus of claim 6, wherein the first rail is a curved rail and the second rail is a straight rail.
 8. The fan apparatus of claim 6, wherein the at least one actuating element is disposed at a position between the panel and the fan module, or the panel is disposed at a position between the at least one actuating element and the fan module.
 9. The fan apparatus of claim 6, further comprising: a circuit substrate, fixedly connected to the panel and provided for the fan module to be plugged therein so as to be connected electrically thereto; wherein, when the at least one actuating element is forced by an acting force and thus sliding by the defining of the corresponding second guide rail, the sliding actuating element is going to press on the pivot for causing the pivot to slide upward by the defining of the corresponding first guide rail, and thus enabling the fan module to detach from the circuit substrate.
 10. The fan apparatus of claim 6, wherein the end of the at least one actuating element that is slidably coupled to the corresponding second guide rail is further connected to a pressing board, while the pressing board is disposed at a position outside the panel and thus enabling the panel to be disposed between the pressing board and the at least one actuating element. 